Jurrjens dominates Nationals in return

By Carroll Rogers

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

It had been two months and way too long since Jair Jurrjens had pitched for the Braves.

That’s what it looked like Wednesday night when Jurrjens dominated the Nationals for five long-lost innings in a 4-1 win. He cruised for five scoreless innings before tiring in the sixth, as if he had been saving up this kind of gem for a while.

Jurrjens’ previous start came April 29, when a strained hamstring forced him out in the last game of the Braves’ nine-game losing streak.

He has had to watch for the past two months as the Braves went 37-19 and took over first place in the National League East. He just wanted to join in on the fun.

“That was the worst two months of my life, not able to be out there and help the team out,” Jurrjens said. “Trying to have the same fun when you’re outside and not playing is not the same fun as being a part of it. Just to be able to be a part right now is awesome.”

With some of his best work since a Cy Young-caliber season a year ago, he put a book-end win on this series, which the Braves started by getting the best of phenom Stephen Strasburg.

Jurrjens (1-3, 5.59 ERA) collected his first win in six starts this season, and the first in which he felt like himself. He had been battling shoulder problems and a jammed finger in spring training before the hamstring issue cropped up in St. Louis.

After Wednesday, the only pain he anticipated was the good kind.

“The soreness that I’m going to feel tomorrow is going to be awesome,” Jurrjens said.

Jurrjens allowed only four hits through the first five innings and no runs until he had left the bases loaded with nobody out in the sixth for Peter Moylan. Moylan coaxed a double play on his first pitch as the only run charged to Jurrjens scored.

Jurrjens struck out six in the first four innings and didn’t issue his first walk until on his 70th pitch of the game. He walked Nyjer Morgan to load the bases in the fifth inning, but worked his own way out of that jam by getting Roger Bernadina to ground out, pumping his fist on his way back to the dugout.

Jurrjens threw 85 pitches, 50 for strikes. The Braves had him targeted for 95 pitches, but after three runners reached in the sixth, Braves manager Bobby Cox went for the ball.

“I thought he would pitch good, but not like he always did the very first time out,” Cox said. “I just didn’t have a read on it, and he was the same old ace, just overpowering. He got a little tired, I think.”

Jurrjens also drove in what became the winning run with a single to start a two-run rally in the fourth inning. He had squared around to bunt and pulled back to slash a liner past a drawn-in Ryan Zimmerman at third base for the third hit in a four-batter span off J.D. Martin.

Gregor Blanco then scored on a Martin Prado sacrifice to give Jurrjens a 3-0 cushion. The Braves got Jurrjens another run in a wild seventh inning by the Nationals bullpen, which featured two hit batsmen and a bas-esloaded walk to Eric Hinske. Billy Wagner recorded his 401st career save by striking out the side in the ninth, following a leadoff single.

In front of a Turner Field crowd that included a band of scrubs-wearing “Jurrjens’ surgeons” in the upper deck, Jurrjens came out pitching with precision. He allowed only two of the first 15 batters to reach, throwing 43 of his first 59 pitches for strikes.

Jurrjens punctuated his first inning back by striking out Zimmerman on a 94-mph fastball to complete a perfect first inning with two strikeouts.

“It was great to see him be JJ,” Matt Diaz said. “In the first inning when he threw 94, we all kind of looked at each other in the dugout like, ‘OK, all right, we remember now.’ So it’s been nice.”